The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1260401
B-8 Wednesday, June 17, 2020 The Press-Dispatch OPINION Submit Letters to the Editor: Letters must be signed and received by noon on Mondays. Email: editor@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg A fter several weeks of being hunkered down, I felt it was time to venture out to a faraway place. About this time of the year, we tra- ditionally look for a place to visit and see what's out there. So we de- bated as to whether we should try flying or driving. When we heard that inside the plane everyone is required to wear a mask the entire trip, we quickly voted to drive to our destination so that we will not have to feel choked up with a mask for several hours. I have a minivan that seats six people comfortably, with good clean environment that we know well, and fresh air that circulates nicely among family members with whom we will be traveling. So, off we go south, my son Law- rence being the pilot and me being the navigator. He had his i-phone programmed through a good Google map app, and I had a big GPS device I pro- grammed for a second opinion. I also have my cell phone for a third opinion via Siri voice prompt, which also is a miraculous quick help. These incredible devices tell you everything you need: where to go, how far it will be, which traffic ar- eas are congested, ra- dars, where camer- as take pictures if you mess up, crossing traf- fic lights, locations of hotels, gas stations, rest areas, and many more things you need to know via voice com- mand which are dis- played and cued. It certainly is a far cry from the times in the '80s when I had to take a map with me, mark the ar- eas I needed to travel, and where items I needed were missing, be- cause the map has been shredded to pieces from constant viewing. What an amazing world we live in. We will never go back to the old world of travel we lived in at one time. I realize how much time you save, how accurately your plan- ning will unfold, how much saf- er it is to listen to Bluetooth as prompts are being announced by these various programs and apps so you don't have to take your eye off the road. Noticeably, traf- fic was lighter, about 70 % of the usual load. I remember those days when we were not on any pandemic restric- tions and highways were just crazy con- gested. • • • So Rose and myself, Lawrence and three of his kids joined us for the venture. Lawrence's wife Kel- ly had to catch up with her work so she did not join us. I suspect part of the reason is because she wants to have some peace and quiet while working part of the time at home and part of the time in her office. So what does it feel like to ven- ture out as we are gradually open- ing up? Here are my personal ob- servations: gas prices were be- tween $1.83 to $2.09 a gallon on the average. The lowest I spotted My Point of View By Dr. H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. Venturing out Minority View By Walter E. Williams The true plight of black Americans Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 While it might not be popular to say in the wake of the recent social disorder, the true plight of black people has little or nothing to do with the police or what has been called "systemic racism." Instead, we need to look at the responsibili- ties of those running our big cities. Some of the most dangerous big cities are: St. Louis, Detroit, Bal- timore, Oakland, Chicago, Mem- phis, Atlanta, Birmingham, New- ark, Buffalo and Philadelphia. The most common characteristic of these cities is that for decades, all of them have been run by liberal Democrats. Some cities — such as Detroit, Buffalo, Newark and Phil- adelphia — haven't elected a Re- publican mayor for more than a half-century. On top of this, in ma- ny of these cities, blacks are may- ors, often they dominate city coun- cils, and they are chiefs of police and superintendents of schools. In 1965, there were no blacks in the U.S. Senate, nor were there any black governors. And only six members of the House of Repre- sentatives were black. As of 2019, there is far greater representation in some areas — 52 House mem- bers are black. Nine black Ameri- cans have served in the Senate, in- cluding Edward W. Brooke of Mas- sachusetts, Carol Moseley Braun and Barack Obama of Illinois, Tim Scott of South Caroli- na, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Ka- mala Harris of Califor- nia. In recent times, there have been three black state governors. The bottom line is that today's black Ameri- cans have significant political power at all levels of government. Yet, what has that meant for a large segment of the black population? Democratic-controlled cities have the poorest-quality public education despite their large, and growing, school budgets. Consider Baltimore, Maryland. In 2016, in 13 of Baltimore's 39 high schools, not a single student scored pro- ficient on the state's math exam. In six other high schools, only 1% tested proficient in math. Only 15% of Baltimore students passed the state's English test. That same year in Philadelphia only 19 % of eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 16 % were proficient in reading. In Detroit, only 4% of its eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 7% were proficient in reading. It's the same story of ac- ademic disaster in other cities run by Democrats. Violent crime and poor education is not the only problem for Democratic-controlled cities. Because of high crime, poor schools and a less pleasant en- vironment, cities are losing their econom- ic base and their most productive people in droves. When World War II end- ed, the population of Washington, D.C., was about 800,000 ; today, it's about 700,000. In 1950, Baltimore's population was almost 950,000 ; today, it's around 590,000. De- troit's 1950 population was close to 1.85 million; today, it's down to 673,000. The population of Cam- den, New Jersey, in 1950 was near- ly 125,000 ; today it has fallen to 74,000. St. Louis' 1950 population was more than 856,000 ; today, it's less than 294,000. A similar story of population decline can be found in most of our formerly large and prosperous cities. In some cities, the population decline since 1950 is well over 50 % , and that includes Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland and Race for the Cure By Star Parker Points to Ponder by Rev. Ford Bond What is essential? Slowly America is emerging from its government-imposed co- coon and the citizenry is conduct- ing a post-mortem on "was the lockdown necessary? " The narrative keeps changing on when COVID-19 emerged. Har- vard University suggest the virus appeared in China in early fall- long before it was "officially" an- nounced. In addition, most of the health measures mandated to slow the spread of the virus may have been futile. This is alarming because civ- il and religious liberties were abridged in the name of health and safety. During the Covid-19 crisis, governors declared non-essential businesses and activities were sus- pended and everyone was to shel- ter in place; American found out quickly what were the essential services and businesses. Americans were assured their church, prayers, and worship was essential. Nevertheless, Church- es [Mosques and Synagogues] re- mained closed by government or- der. Health and safety first! Our elected officials deemed essential participating in the lot- tery so that the unrealistic lure of a jackpot remained an enticement for the poor and working classes; nevertheless, the churches had to remain closed. Health and safety first! Our elected officials declared essential carryout liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries so the public would remain anesthe- tized to its plight; nevertheless, the churches had to remain closed. Health and safety first! Our elected officials affirmed abortion clinics were essential services; death to the unborn can- not be abridged; nevertheless, the churches had to remain closed. Health and safety first! Our elected officials declared hospitals were essential so the sick and dying could be cared for. Peo- ple died ALONE without last rites or prayers from their clergy. Sor- ry-health and safety first! Our elected officials affirmed funeral homes were essential; nev- ertheless, clergy had to remain quarantined. Survivors would have to comfort themselves. Health and safety first! Our elected officials consid- ered nursing homes essential; res- idents became prisoners. Family and clergy were not allowed to vis- it and those who died, died alone without loved ones and clergy at their side. Health and safety first! Our elected officials deemed Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, and Amazon essential business. Gov- ernors were not willing to risk the wrath of the gods of corpo- rate America. Corporate America was allowed to make obscene prof- its selling everything "essential" while churches and small busi- nesses were ordered closed and millions went without a paycheck. Health and safety first! Finally, several Churches and Synagogues decided they had enough of government interfer- ence in the spiritual lives of Amer- icans and exercised their First Amendment Right: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or pro- hibiting the free exercise thereof;" Government reacted quickly. The mayor of New York City broke up a Jewish funeral while the may- or of Chicago and several other cit- ies declared Church attendance a criminal offense California and Illinois told the Churches [along with Mosques and Synagogues] they must abide by the same conditions as busi- nesses. Churches decried this strong-arm tactic and cited the Constitution's provision, "Con- gress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" Our President in April and then in May declared the Church essen- tial. Twenty-One governors said they are not. The Supreme Court was asked to settle the dispute. On May 30th, the Court upheld California's re- strictions placed upon houses of worship. Religious communities found out that the majority of the jus- Continued from last week's edition. MYTH: CAPITALISM IS THE CAUSE OF AMERICA'S ILLS Another persistent myth is that capitalism is responsible for the worst times in American histo- ry. The 19th century is depicted as the age of the "robber barons," when greedy capitalists exploit- ed the poor and opened wide the gates for immigrants whom they abused unmercifully. Night and day, goes the myth, Wall Street conned Main Street and nearly bled Midwest farmers dry. The reality was far different. There was an explosion of char- itable activity financed in large part by America's wealthiest cit- izens throughout the 19th centu- ry. As Milton Friedman summa- rized, "Privately financed schools and colleges multiplied; foreign missionary activity exploded; non- profit private hospitals, orphan- ages and numerous other institu- tions sprang up like weeds." The charitable activity was matched by cultural activi- ty. Art museums, opera houses, sym- phonies, museums, and public librar- ies (a favorite ben- efice of steel mag- nate Andrew Carn- egie) were begun in big cities and small towns alike. Capitalism is also blamed for the Great Depression of 1929 -1932. The truth is that the Federal Reserve's gross misman- agement of the money supply led to an inflationary boom and the crash of the stock market. Between 1921 and 1929, the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, the Federal Reserve increased the money sup- ply by a shocking 61.8 percent, en- couraging mass speculation and unsupported bank loans. The end of the Great Depres- sion is just as misunderstood and mis-taught in our schools. Pres- ident Roosevelt and the feder- al government did not lift Amer- ica out of the depres- sion, although they tried through mas- sive domestic spend- ing and government action like agricultur- al price support pro- grams. In 1939, after seven years of the her- alded New Deal, U.S. unemployment stood at a disturbing 17.2 percent. Economic recovery fi- nally occurred because of an im- pending world war that occasioned large orders for guns, tanks, ships, and other material. CAPITALISM AND LIMITED GOVERNMENT What Americans have sought since the Founding is a society that keeps government in its place. And nothing restrains government more than private property, the primary instrument of capitalism Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 As more of our political elite joins the mobs in the streets to conflate the death of George Floyd with a general indictment of Amer- ica as a racist and evil nation, black Americans, more than anyone, will suffer. Former President George W. Bush has now weighed in to false- ly accuse our nation of "systemic racism." President Bush was born to a life of privilege. Yet he fell victim to al- coholism and turned to faith and religion to take back responsibil- ity and control of his life. Yet he has insufficient respect for black Americans, most of whom are born into circumstances far more daunting than anything he has ever known, to grant them the privilege of truth and person- al responsibility that have served him so well. It is simply delusional to sug- gest that there has been hardly any change in the gaps in income and wealth between blacks and the rest of the nation over the more than half-century since the passage of the Civil Rights Act because of "systemic racism." If there is a racism that accounts for these persistent disparities, it is the racism of big-government lib- erals. Now we see some Republi- cans, many business leaders and even some black conservative lead- ers signing on to this. It is a racism that says black Americans cannot adhere to the same eternal truths, to the same law, as everyone else and take personal responsibility for their lives. Let's recall the observation at- tributed to George Orwell that says, "In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act." All Americans today sorely need to hear the truth amidst the deceit that is now rampant. Why do racial disparities persist in America today? Listen to Dr. James Heckman, professor of economics and direc- tor of the Center for the Econom- ics of Human Development at the University of Chicago, and winner of the Nobel Prize in economics. In a recent interview, Heckman was asked, "What do you think are the main barriers to income or so- cial mobility? " His answer: "The main barri- ers to developing effective poli- cies for income and social mobili- ty is fear of honest engagement in the changes in the American fam- ily and the consequences it has wrought. It is politically incorrect to express the truth and go to the source of problems. Public dis- course, such as it is, cannot speak honestly about matters of culture, race, and gender. Powerful censor- ship is at play across the entire so- ciety. ... "The family is the source of life and growth. Families build val- ues, encourage (or discourage) their children in school and out. Families — far more than schools — create or inhibit life opportuni- ties." In 1960, a few years before pas- sage of the Civil Rights Act, 61% of blacks over 18 were married. By 2010, 31% were. In 2015, per Pew Research, 54% of black children compared with 19 % of white children were living in a single-parent home. If black Americans are victims of anything, it is that they live in a country that has become a waste- land of moral relativism. What government can do is ad- vance policies to encourage the right behaviors. Allow paren- tal choice in education; advance ownership by replacing the pay- roll tax with personal retirement accounts; implement housing and health care policy that relies on freedom and choice. And purge ethnicity from existing and fu- ture law. Don't tell me I am indifferent to George Floyd's death. Poor po- lice behavior must be punished. A good start is to diminish the influ- ence of police unions. But the only systemic racism Heritage Viewpoint By Lee Edwards, Ph.D. The case for capitalism, part II Don't confuse moral bankruptcy with racism